My Easter Reflections

“He is not here. He has risen!”

—Luke 24:6

Easter is all about rising. I’m not just talking about Jesus rising from the dead, although that’s my metaphor. I’m talking about the fact that today can be a moment when each of us chooses to rise in our own lives.

My brother Timothy asked me for time we could spend together. So off we went to spend a weekend at a retreat in New Mexico organized by Father Richard Rohr. We went to listen, to learn, to connect, to be with one another, and to be at one with ourselves. (His beautiful daughter Rose came with us, too.)

Father Rohr was joined by William Paul Young, author of The Shack, and Cynthia Bourgeault, an Episcopal priest and modern-day mystic.

The weekend was moving, meaningful, and profound, culminating in a beautiful mass. It gave me time to think about my own story and to think about the highs and lows of life—not just my own, but all of ours. For as Father Rohr said, if you have a soul, then you must acknowledge that everyone else does, too. They also have highs and lows and dark and light.

My time with these wonderful souls was life-affirming.

Here are twenty of the takeaways I brought home with me:

  1. What is broken in you makes you human, not bad. We’re all united in our brokenness and in our suffering. Acknowledge it.
  2. Revelations happen from the inside out, not the outside in. Allow for them.
  3. We think we need to know someone before we can love them, but divine thinking is to love before you know. Love unconditionally.
  4. One of the biggest challenges we face today is loss of meaning. Find meaning wherever you can.
  5. Religion has become too centered on sins. We were taught that our sins separate us from God, but that’s not true.
  6. If you always have to convince your parents to love you, then you never trust that they do. Note to parents: Focus on giving the love your child is seeking.
  7. There are moments in all of our lives when we are blind, and then we see. Open your mind to other ways of thinking and seeing. That will get you out of the dualistic frame of mind that sees everything as good versus bad or right versus wrong. Open your mind to a third way.
  8. The contemplative mind approaches things in their completeness. Be contemplative in action. Contemplation and action actually do go together.
  9. Most thinking is simply the result of an obsessive mind. Find ways to turn yours off.
  10. You have to pull the rug out from under yourself. Only then can you live in the flow. In choosing to accept the unknowing that life presents, you’ll be able to accept the flow.
  11. Wholeness is when the way of your being matches the truth of your being. And the truth is, you are a very good creation. Note to self: Accept this truth as it is.
  12. The opposite of “more” is “enough.” Remember that.
  13. In order for your “yes” to matter, your “no” has to matter, too.
  14. Everything comes down to your capacity for presence. Your mind dwells in the past and the future. Work with it to focus on the present.
  15. Most of us carry shame in our bodies, so we punish them for it. Integrating your mind and body helps you to be present.
  16. See yourself as doing God’s work. When you see yourself this way, see others as doing God’s work, too.
  17. We often hold on to other people’s stories of ourselves. Know your own story and tell it.
  18. Electricity can operate only in a circuit. There has to be a giver and a receiver. Remember that.
  19. You will know what you need to know when you need to know it.
  20. Your experiences are yours and yours alone. Each and every one of us has a mission, a purpose, and a calling. Our challenge on this day and all days is to rise to that calling.

The final thought I will leave you with today is this: I would never have gone to this retreat had my brother Timothy not asked me to set aside some time to spend with him. I’m so glad he did. So when someone you love asks you for time, take it. You will have your own glorious list of takeaways.

Dear God, I celebrate you as the God of resurrection. There are dreams I have had and areas of my life that seem to have withered away and died long ago, but you have the power to help me bring them back to life. You will always bring new paths to walk, and your grace is always fresh and overflowing. Amen.